Tag: jews

The hypocrisy would be appalling were it not so functional: the biggest impediment to both the reform of Islam and peace in the Middle East that Americans have the ability to remove is our support for a militant Jewish ideology that few Arabs and Muslims have ever accepted.

The 9/11 Commission concluded that US policy in Palestine was part of the reason for the attacks, but that analysis was whittled down to a few sentences– even as the head of the commission said that the Iraq war was launched to protect Israel. (And Condi Rice said the war would provide “strategic relief” to Israel and Colin Powell said it was dreamed up by the Zionist thinktank the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs).

And this blog– for which the Iraq war was the core issue– began after my brother told me that he had demonstrated against the Vietnam War but his Jewish newspaper said this war might be good for Israel; and this blog got pushed out the door at the New York Observer, then the Nation Institute.

Bernie Sanders and I both opposed the Iraq war. Most American Jews opposed that war. But Sanders’s assertion that there is a war for the soul of Islam is hollow, cheap and condescending so long as he and the mainstream Jewish community continue to suppress the war for the soul of Judaism.

That war is happening all around us in the margins; but the west will not be able to rid the earth of ISIS and the radical Islamism that we are told is not Islam (believe me, I can’t wait for their demise) till we conduct a similar scathing inventory of Jewish political beliefs.

Yesterday James North and I wrote here that we’re not monocausal; even if there was justice in Palestine it would not end Islamist violence. I stand by that point. But the ultimate question is the one Bernie Sanders raised last night, What can we do to end the religious element of the conflicts in the Middle East? And the answer is that Jews must end their support for Zionism, which has turned out to be religious, fascistic and militant, and is fueling rage across the Middle East and further.

How long can Jews not have this conversation? Hannah Arendt wrote in 1944 that opposition to Zionism drew on great understandings: the “realization of the fatal, utopian hyperbole of the demand for a Jewish commonwealth and a rejection of the idea of making all Jewish politics in Palestine dependent on the protection of great powers.”

It was an American problem then and it’s an American problem now. We have set aside our own secular values when it comes to the Middle East. We should stop lecturing Muslims about their backward ideas till we reckon with our own.

The illegal U.S.-led invasion of Iraq led to the deaths of at least one million people, destabilized the entire region, and created extreme conditions in which militant groups like al-Qaeda spread like wildfire, eventually leading to the emergence of ISIS.

In Afghanistan, the ongoing U.S.-led war and occupation — which the Obama administration just prolonged for a second time — has led to approximately a quarter of a million deaths and has displaced millions of Afghans.

The disastrous U.S.-led NATO intervention in Libya destroyed the government, turning the country into a hotbed for extremism and allowing militant groups like ISIS to spread west into North Africa. Thousands of Libyans have been killed, and hundreds of thousands made refugees.

In Yemen, the U.S. and other Western nations are arming and backing the Saudi-led coalition that is raining down bombs, including banned cluster munitions, on civilian areas, pulverizing the poorest country in the Middle East. And, once again — the story should now be familiar — thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

“We have reiterated that the Syrian future will be decided by Syrian people alone,” the Russian foreign minister said, including “the destination of Mr. Assad and any other politician in this country.”

If this doesn’t speak to Sander’s blind populism or Hillary’s overt power hunger then I don’t know what does!

America is at a real turning point in its political culture.

Many ideologies are on the table.

Where are the minorities?

I like the idea that Democrats are more egalitarian than Republicans, but is Bernie’s socialism really the solution? America’s problem isn’t just economic. It is a cultural ailment; police brutality, mass-incarceration, a terribly hawkish foreign policy dominated by foreign interest-lobbies.

Bernie is super appealing. That’s why I think Larry David fit this character so well. I am not anti-Bernie Sanders, but I am yet to be pro-anybody that isn’t critical on particular issues.

In the realm of domestic politics, we need people who aren’t afraid to point out inconsistencies.

In foreign politics; we need someone who isn’t an Israeli lapdog.

Obama has given Israel the cold shoulder; but he has also given them a blanket to stay warm.

I prefer his strategy over any of the current contenders.

Republicans have nothing to offer but war, as usual.

Imagine an Arab-American president, one that understands the struggles of the minorities inside America, but isn’t all too detached from America’s foreign policy shortcomings. Let’s be frank; America’s domestic politics is completely dependent and a direct reflection of its foreign policies. Why do you think American politicians are less encouraged to bring issues of foreign policy to the attention of the American people? Because Americans would hate to associate their “freedom-loving-democracy” with carnage and evil abroad.

We need leaders who are realists; who are not daunted by America’s history.

Like communism it promises freedom, dignity and equality of opportunity, but in essence, concentrates wealth and resources arbitrarily in the hands of few. And these resources are usually public, natural resources that have been turned into mechanisms of exploitation by the private sector.

Meanwhile, two centuries of capitalistic-criminality remains unaddressed, and today’s generations are responding by challenging the status quo through various movements, be it Black Lives Matter, immigration rights advocates, and other groups against Islamophobia.

But these initiatives are up against the political and economic power-house of “capitalism”, which is in essence, just a group of probably white men who are justifying their arbitrary ownership of public services, while stifling any chance at achieving a truly free market where merit, skill and quality are accessible.

The capitalist theory of free market, may actually not be attainable considering the need for government regulation.

Regardless, for a market to actually be free of artificial forces, there must be a distinction between public and private sectors, and there must be laws limiting the influence of corporate giants on the political process so as to balance it with popular will as well as national interest.

This requires a mixed-economic approach, which therein reveals the pseudo-philosophical basis of capitalism.

Capitalism is not an economic philosophy or attitude as suggested by its proponents but rather, it is an “ideology” of exclusivism, elitism and exploitation, which results in an apartheid style of government. It is not different from all other ideological schools that self-righteously claim to carry the banner of freedom and justice.

The world overcame the dogmas of capitalism and still struggles to do so, especially in the boundaries of eastern giants like China & Russia, and the Central Asian countries. Tianemen Square protests serve as a stark reminder of the suppression of individual rights by the state. The US and other Western countries pretend to act like they care, but if they really did, would their hands not be in the pockets of Chinese officials? American capitalism profits off Chinese Communism. That is because, correctly understood, the two ideologies resemble one another; a delusion of freedom mixed with an intrusive, corrupt, conglomerate of a state. This is true of most countries in the world exhibited high rates of government persecution, tyranny, extremism and authoritarianism; they corroborate to ensure slavery, obedience, and to prevent ACTUAL freedom for all individuals and collectives.

Capitalism will come to an end once Western officials are no longer afraid to dissassociate from it. The distinction must be made between freedom and justified thievery.

The challenge to capitalism has been long in the making. In today’s world, entities like Saudi Arabia, Israel, and other colonies of Western imperialism are the emblems of state-capitalism and corruption.

The American and European capitalist machines are under threat by popular movements and leftist doctrine. We must continue the fight against ignorance and collective passivity, and make it known that the American tradition of capitalist-fascism does not reflect our TOTAL culture, and that is largely responsible for domestic and international misery. Democracy is a means, not an end, in the word of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. This means that we must challenge the idea that we are a democracy, and make MORE democratic demands that bring us closer to “justice” and further from a passive, collective position that is submissive to exploitation and ignorance.

The capitalists are afraid of genuine competition. They know that we are looking not for guarantees of wealth or success, but rather, guarantees at an opportunity to strive for that success. We don’t want money. We don’t want welfare. In fact, statistics show that the majority of welfare recipients are white-americans. Capitalists are a walking hypocrisy; they fear competition, so they prevent it, and claim to be the definition thereof. This is a genius tactic, but one that will fall prey to collective enlightenment and individual self-consciousness.

Speaking of knowledge of self, capitalism, and money…here’s the Official Music Video for Talib Kweli’s “Fuck The Money” featuring Cassper Nyovest:

Legendary Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli has long been hailed as Hip-Hop’s ambassador to the people. This album was made available to fans for free, which resonates with its anti-ignorance demeanor. As a hip-hop head myself and a critic of fundamentalistic capitalism, I have to say, I raise my hand with you, Mr. Kweli!

To purchase and download other free products from Talib’s extensive body of work, as well as to find products from his Javotti Media label-mates, like NIKO IS, Jessica Care-Moore, Cory Mo and K-Valentine, visit his website, KWELICLUB.com.

U buffoon I came from the moon
You envy what you can’t do
Ain’t you the same dude who changed through and through
I guess that’s what it makes you do
I see a change in you you see a change me,
Then we came to agree, never,
Much better, you just satan to me,
Making empty statements, blank checks and petty cases,
They searchin’ for any path just to getting famous,
But homie if you do the math then you wouldn’t last, cause frankly dog you lacking the basics,
I don’t dabble in hatred I laugh at the fakeness,
you get dodged like a jab in the matrix,
went from having to take shifts to rapping with greatest,
sitting with the cameraman my eyes on the actors and the stages,
different attractions for these factions and agents,
the wait is long you must practice some patience.

yeah i move like the light force of wind
when i come in in the room
I’m more like Muhammad Rasul upon ’em
the moment i knew i would begin
step in the scene let the story begin
I’m not thru with worry,cory bring me a forty
cause I’m too scared to drive, threats of being deported
imagine living life scared to drive, most y’all live scared to ride,
just drank a fifth of vodka dare me to try?
they be like danny why r u such an arrogant guy,
u always talk out loud about what where and why,
well truth is i don’t care about what is apparent to the eye,
so stop talking like my parents tell me what to cherish in life,
fuck your appearance, i don’t care if isn’t nice,
i could give two fucks and get thru security clearance,
cause my name isn’t Islamic but closer to Clarence,
Its fucked up, when whats under your skin is hidden in the dump truck,
you dumb fuck, stupid fortune call it dumb luck,
weapons of war i got em chained down with my nunchuck,
only two important questions, whose down and what’s up?
sit down and shut up, look around,
its KRIKOS giving you the run around.

Presented by Colours of the Culture. For professional inquiries contact KRIKOSofficial@gmail.com.

LYRICS:

A lot of has changed since we started this game,
used to reup from greg till bobby brought change,
zipped up never knew a half pound would bring us,
merry xmas, reigning presents from mount olympus,
me and my homies, jus conducting normal business,
aint worried bout the hoes cause all the sluts is seditious,
put they hands in places they not supposed to be cause they got sticky fingers,
get pushed back neighborhood hood rat,
got the good cap, from the homie ELI,
trips to tampa just to feed my ego enough,
head rushing up and down like a see saw,
on an airplane destination heaven yellin,
every story has an influence, leave somebody stuck till they ruins,
in the paint posting up like ewing,
federalis claim im dangerous human, they right,
puppets got us strung up i tell them boys to hang tight.

lil homie from the other side,
they been waiting for me long enough to keep me feeling right,
ever since i was younging i knew i could rhyme,
putting words together just like you and i,
remember when we used to cop just enough,
sitting back smoking up knowing the cops could rush,
at any minute, but honestly I couldn’t give a fuck,
A role model watch me throw both of my middle fingers up,
Staring at the tip jar Im still waiting for the bartender to fill the cup,
Pardon me, when I smoke, I can be a little blunt,
They been patiently waiting to watch a real kid stunt,
The devil is a cashier, waiting for him to ring me up,
With faisal picking basil out in India,
Assistant secretary first name Cynthia,
Picking her up when she got fired over from NPR,
for all her shortcomings like Glenn’s keytar.